Journey Back To Pallet
by Bramble Askida
Summary: First fanfic, please no flames! After Ash Ketchum's crushing defeat at the hands of Tobias in the semifinals of the Sinnoh League, he has retreated to the peak of Mt. Silver to train. After beginning to call himself Red Satoshi, the black-haired boy has finally decided to return to his hometown. But what will happen when he returns?


**A/N: Hey everybody, Bramble Askida here! This is my first ****_real _****fanfiction. I've tried writing before, but it just never managed to flow, you know what I mean? So: here it is. This is a oneshot, just so you know.**

**Summary:** After Ash Ketchum's crushing defeat at the hands of Tobias in the semifinals of the Sinnoh League, he has retreated to the peak of Mt. Silver to train. After beginning to call himself Red Satoshi, the black-haired boy has finally decided to return to his hometown. But what will happen when he returns?

It had been five years. Five years since he had left. After his crushing defeat by Tobias' hand in the Sinnoh League, he had fled to the peak of Mt. Silver. Most thought he was dead, frozen after a couple months. He was there for his funeral, though hidden in the shadows. The raven had Gallade to thank for that. The green and white warrior had teleported his master back to Pallet Town, just as they were throwing his shroud into the crisp red and orange flames. Ash Ketchum was now dead. But Red Satoshi still lived. And it was his time to return.

"Charizard!" Red called through the blinding snow, and the red dragon-like Pokémon appeared almost instantly. The flame on its tail was pulsing with life, showing how healthy the Fire-Type was. "_Master, what are you thinking?"_ a canine Pokémon came up from behind Red, its ears perked for danger. "I'm thinking that it is our time to return." the raven grinned dangerously down at the blue and black dog. Crimson eyes widened at the statement. What could his master possibly be thinking? _"Are you sure that it is not too early? It has only been five years, Master."_ the Fighting-Steel Type asked worriedly. He wasn't sure if his Master Red was stable enough after his defeat to face his former friends and family.

"Are you doubting me, Lucario?" the raven turned back to face his Pokémon. Lucario gulped in response, trying to keep his own gaze glued to his master's eyes. _"No, Master, of course not. I was just unsure whether or not they would be prepared to finally see you alive again."_ the dual-type admitted, breaking eye contact with Red. "It has been five years, Lucario." he stated, sighing. He knew that he had changed, for better or for worse, he didn't know.

The little boy that existed five years ago was burned with the shroud. He has matured through the years. The blue canine looked back into his master's unfocused eyes. They were still warm with happiness, but also weighed with sorrow and loneliness. Lucario could understand why he would want to return to Pallet.

"Lucario?" Red asked, finally turning off of Memory Lane. _"Yes Master?"_ the canine quickly snapped to attention. "Will you begin packing? We leave in an hour." the raven also addressed Charizard with the last sentence. The large red dragon grunted in affirmation, just as Red continued. "Charizard, gather everybody up. Be prepared to take flight when Lucario is ready. I trust you to get things done." Charizard let out a loud roar of pride as it shot into the air, wings making a booming sound as they beat strongly and steadily against the freezing wind.

After an hour had passed, a group of assorted Pokémon stood in front of their trainer. Charizard stood at the head, waiting for Red and Lucario to make their appearance. Within a minute, they were there. The red dragon Pokémon looked up, seeing an acute nod of his trainer's head. It let out an echoing roar that could put a Groudon to shame, calling all of the Pokémon there to attention. They all looked at the Fire and Flying type, who gestured toward the front, where Red stood.

His back was facing the blizzard, arms crossed, giving him an aura of power. The trainer grunted and jerked his head, and Charizard stepped forward. "I presume that Charizard here has told everyone what is going on." he started, receiving a chorus of grunts and nods in response. "Is everybody ready to leave?" The raven continued, having turned into a person who gets straight to the point throughout the years. Another chorus of grunts answered him. "Then let's go." Red finished quickly, returning all of his non-flying Pokémon besides Pikachu and Lucario. _"Are you sure that you want to do this,_ _Master_?"the canine asked, looking back at Red.

"Yes." came the reply, an air of finality surrounding him. Lucario sighed, finally giving up. It seemed as though Red had made his decision, and he refused to go back on it. So he would support his Master as best he could. And if his Master wanted to return home to Pallet, the Aura Pokémon would aid him to the best of his ability.

* * *

**|~|~|~BACK IN PALLET TOWN~|~|~|**

Delia Ketchum had been watching the normal evening Watchog News, when a special story had come on. The auburn-haired woman rose from her place at the dining table to stand in the entryway to the living room. After watching the news alert screen come and go, the newscaster began to speak. "Welcome everybody, to Watchog News! Tonight, we have a special story for all you folks out there! You girls are probably wondering if we managed to get any snapshots of a shirtless Wallace. Same with all you Trainers out there, except with a sighting of a legendary Pokémon. But we have something even better!"

Delia sighed. This was always how regular news stories started. Perhaps this one would be about the Starly moving to Kalos instead of southern Sinnoh. She began to walk back to the table when she heard the newcaster's next words. "There seems to be a large flock of flying Pokémon coming from the infamous Mount Silver. Bird watchers in that area say that they have seen Pokémon from all regions in that group, including a large Charizard with _something _on its back leading them. With the direction that they've been going in, it seems that they are heading to Pallet Town, where the famous Professor Oak resides. We promise to keep you updated on all we know! So for now, off to our sponsors."

Delia's eyes widened, and she retreated deep into her mind, completely tuning out the Shiny Miltank Ice Cream commercial that had just come on. Could it be him, her little boy? When she was at his funeral, they had announced he had disappeared without a trace. But with no contact from him for nearly half a year, they had presumed that the trainer known as Ash Ketchum had finally found his match, and was now deceased.

But his mother and friends had never given up on his. Sure, they had attended his funeral and said statements as they watched his shroud burn. And yet deep within their hearts, they knew that Ash wouldn't give in that easily. So they waited. And finally, five long years after his departure, they believed that he was finally coming home, back to Pallet.

* * *

**|~|~|~SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES OF KANTO~|~|~|**

Red had been thinking. Wondering about how they would react when they saw him for the first time in five years. Those years could have been considered lonely, had he not had his Pokémon standing by his side every step of the way. They trained, near the peak of one of the tallest mountains in the world. The weather was their greatest enemy, having to climb through countless blizzards that were so harsh, some people would say they were caused by Articuno itself. Hunger and warmth were problems as well, but Red learned how to solve those quickly. Some of his Pokémon could produce their own food. If not for Torterra, his Pokémon would have starved long ago. The energy nuts that the Grass tortoise grew on his back were perfect. Then his energized flying Pokémon could head down to the more habitable part of the mountain to collect fruits for their trainer.

Warmth was easily solved by the Pokémon huddling closer to Red at night. Charizard, Pikachu, Lucario, and Gallade always were closest to their trainer. The Ice-Types usually guarded the entrance to the cave from the constant blizzard, since they naturally loved the cold. It kept the Pokémon inside warm, and the Ice-Types happy.

He was finally brought out of his flashbacks by a light shock from his partner, who had sensed that his trainer's thoughts were wandering. Red smiled lightly, petting the little electric mouse on his head. Pikachu let out a cry of happiness, before curling back up and allowing the raven to go back to his thoughts. Now he had to think about what to say when he finally saw his mom and friends again.

The beating of the large dragon's wings was soothing, but he knew that the peace and calm would end soon. More specifically when he reached Pallet Town. It had been nearly two hours since they departed, so he knew they were getting close. Looking down, Red saw that he was correct. They were currently passing over the south entrance of Viridian Forest. "Charizard, descend!" he called, voice being blown back by the wind. The Fire Pokémon roared out in response, also alerting the other Pokémon of its plan.

Charizard began to fly lower, its group joining in with a flock of Butterfree passing over the treetops. Red couldn't help but smile, remembering his own Butterfree that he released nearly six years prior. The sky was darker than it had been when he left, letting him know that it was probably nearing 7 o'clock. He would finally be home. Definitely within the next hour. His smile only grew, and he knew that it would be a happy reunion indeed.

* * *

**|~|~|~BACK IN PALLET TOWN~|~|~|**

Delia had gotten in contact with all of Ash's former traveling companions and friends, including those from other regions. Thankfully, most of them had access to a powerful Psychic Pokémon, or a person who owned one. Others were close enough to either drive, walk, or fly. Right now, the majority of them were siting in her living room. They were still waiting for Professor Oak and Gary Oak, but for right now, everyone's gaze was locked on the TV screen. The latest update had been about twenty minutes ago, when the news station had gotten a report of seeing a large group of flying Pokémon near Viridian City.

If it really _was _Ash, then Delia was expecting him to appear soon. Very soon. A knock came from the door, and when opened, it revealed the two Oaks. "Has he appeared yet?" the older one asked, and got his answer when Delia sighed dejectedly when she saw the two. "So everybody is here now, as far as I know. Hopefully this isn't a false alarm. I know inside that my boy isn't gone." Delia stated, going back to the couch. With the Oaks here, everybody began to talk once more.

Meanwhile, Red stood at the entrance to Pallet Town, his Pokémon behind him. They had traveled the distance remaining on foot, and the trainer had released all of his Pokémon as soon as they landed. Breathing in the familiar air of his hometown, the raven finally began walking. The Pokémon behind him noticed their trainer's movements, and began to follow. His house wasn't too far into Pallet, but it was a small town to begin with. Red smiled when he stopped in front of his house. Taking a deep breath, he walked forward and knocked on the door.

Inside, Delia heard the knocking. At first, she thought that it may have been another one of Ash's friends that she didn't know about. Opening the door, her eyes widened. The auburn-haired woman's vision began to blur because of the tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

"Hey mom." Ash Ketchum said, his Pokémon behind him as he look her in the eyes and smiled.

**"I'm home."**

* * *

**A/N: So that's it for my first fanfic. Sorry for the rant in Ash's thoughts around the middle of the chapter. I got distracted during Human Geography and that happened. But if you would like me to make a second chapter to this, I will. Otherwise, I plan to leave it as a oneshot. Please review and favorite if you liked it, follow me if you want more. PM me if you want any requests, and I may fulfill them. Thanks for reading!**

**Also, please don't flame me if there are some wrong words. I'm doing this from my phone, so AutoCorrect sometimes treats it as a wrong word and replaces it without me knowing. **


End file.
